Hard Liquor: Chinese Firms Investigated Over Viagra-Laced Alcohol

Two popular liquor makers are under investigation in China, exposing demand for a lesser-known, stiff cocktail in the country: spirits and Viagra.

Authorities in central China said Saturday they are investigating the Guikun Alcohol Plant and Deshun Alcohol Plant to determine if the distillers added impotence drugs to their liquor, specifically to a popular Chinese white spirit known as baijiu. One of the liquors was allegedly called “Pot of Gold Kung Fu Wine,” the statement from the authorities said.

An employee at the Guikun Alcohol plant declined to comment on the investigation. A legal representative for Deshun was not available for comment.

Consumers frequently protest outside markets where they’ve purchased contaminated food. But this time, many are showing rising support for the product rather than taking a hard line against it.

“Please buy me a few bottles,” one social media user wrote on Weibo, in response to an article on the investigation.

“Just supplementing a little,” said another Weibo user.

While the concoction is illegal in China, there appears to be a reason many are making it. Infused alcohol is quite common in China. And the erectile dysfunction drug Sildenafil is as well. Many street-side pharmacies sell it almost like an over-the-counter drug -- consumers merely have to ask for it.

Last year, police detained the owner of a liquor factory in China’s central Jianshi County, alleging that he had also distilled this new powerful blend, according to the state-run People’s Daily.

The factory owner added 130 milligrams of the drug to 100 milliliters of the liquor, the People’s Daily said. It’s unclear how he came up with this proportion. He gave 810 bottles to his friends and sold others for 30 yuan per bottle, the report said.